......Smells like carrots.

Recap: Saturday- Sinuses started draining

Sunday - Fever started

Monday- Felt like 900 lbs. of concrete on a Popsicle stick

Tuesday - Felt like crap on a saltine

Wednesday - Felt like Death warmed over in a baby bottle

Today - Doesn't matter. Somebody asks, I say Fine and don't think about it. In a day or two I'll wake up and it'll be gone. Sometimes you just gotta drive on.

I've had to rearrange how I do things for Tuesday nights lately. I used to be able to use the 4:00 -6:00 time period on Tuesdays to run around and get stuff, get things started early, pull things out of the freezer, etc. That was nice because it gave me a safety net to change things on the fly. Now I've started Tutoring at WIRE Monday through Thursdays from 4:00-6:00. Safety net gone.

Now I've gotta plan ahead more and take care of things on Monday. Fun.

Big shout out to J.BOGGS, TYLER and EBY for going downtown with me on Monday night and cooking the chili with me. Chili's one of those things that is better when you cook it, then cool it off and let it sit for a day, then warm it up and serve it. You need to give it a day and let everybody in the pot get acquainted and comfortable with each other. So if we started it at 6 on Tuesday, we'd barely get it assembled and cooking by 7:30. It wouldn't be as good as it could be.

We had fun doing it.

When Tuesday came, life was much easier with the chili already made and just needing simmering. We cooked 6 pans of rice to go with it. Cecelia dug out a box of cake mix out of the pantry so she baked it. It was just regular ol' yellow cake, but it was pretty good with chocolate icing.

CHILI w/RICE (with cheese, jalapenos, cherry peppers and TEXAS PETE as toppings) DINNER ROLLS

DESSERT/ CAKE

SWEET TEA/WATER

This was the second meal in a row we cooked with things collected and donated by the CrossTraining kids (1-6 graders). I called Don Vigus to come down and video our friends saying "Thank you" as they came through the serving line. He'll send it to them and it'll get played during their next meeting (which was last night). I hope they like it. We are very grateful for what they did.
ANNA / KILLER / JOHANNA / ALEXIS / CREECH / BRIANNA / TYLER / MO-GAN / ELLYN / ALYSSA / SHANE / HAMPTON / WAYNE / BRIEN / TERESA / MARK / T.J. / ELAINE / CECELIA / CHRISTIAN / STEVE / BLAKE / DAVID /

I was really glad Wayne and David were there at 6:00. I had gone to school and tutored at WIRE, so by 6:00 not only did I feel bad, I was beat. My original plan was to get it started and and then leave once we started feeding. Wayne Currie was going to be there all night and could handle it no problem. But somehow, I never transitioned from what was going on to going home. I wound up staying all night. Not smart, I know.
For all the LOST fans reading this....What did one Snowman say to the other Snowman? ....................

....serving off the top of a open coffin!

Tonight we fixed spaghetti with the ingredients the CrossTraining kids collected for us. They collected so much that we didn't use all of it. We have some sauce and noodles left for another night.

Next week we'll make chili with the other ingredients they collected.

Thanks again to the leaders and kids at CrossTraining for doing such a great job on their project.



Back in the day, if 12 people showed up to help on a Tuesday night, we were ecstatic. Last night we had 16 (at one point) and one of the kids said Wow, kinda light turnout tonight, huh? I laughed when I thought about how perspective changes. We've been having roughly 30 every week now for a while. To a kid used to that, 16 is kinda light, but I remember nights when it was just me and Gary McKnight passing out hot dogs and sodas.

Perspective. It's a handy thing to keep around.



Speaking of Gary McKnight- I've mentioned before how much help he was in the early days by coming and helping on Tuesday nights. Could not have done it without his and Jim Morgan's help. He continues to help whenever needed and is always asking if there's anything we need.

My point?

Both his daughters came and helped throughout High School. One did her Senior Project on the Homeless and the other continues to come every week and brings friends.

Coincidence?

NO.

Never underestimate the effect of positive role modeling and providing opportunities for kids to serve others.



It was so cold last night, when I apologized to a couple of the ones who stayed down to clean while we served at the first stop, they laughed and said No Problem, we were glad to stay down where it was warm.



Every night begins with us having an idea of how we want it to go and then proceeds to head in directions we never intended or saw coming. I left Twig in the kitchen with some kids about 6:20 and went underneath the LEC to get coolers and supplies and told him we were going to clean it out also. He said Fine, we got this. So me, Henry, London, and Trey took off.

There was a lot to reorganize, rearrange, and clean out. Then we loaded up everything we needed and went back up top to set up and take the coolers down to the kitchen.

What a difference 45 minutes makes.

Twig had to leave because his step-son had gotten hurt using a Lacrosse match. Anna Tolan and Keith Miller had been on their own with the kids in the kitchen most of the time I was gone. Here's what they were dealing with while I was counting paper plates:

Boiling 15 pounds of noodles

Cooking 5 gallons of sauce

warming up 100 pieces of chicken

Warming up 4 pans of macaroni'n Cheese

Warming up a pan of Yams

Warming up a pan of Beans and Rice

Toasting 200 pieces of assorted bread

They were great! And then Brien got there and started the washing process. They were jammed for oven space, the stove top was full, and the logistics of it all was beginning to look like a Rubik's Cube (All time best selling puzzle. 350 million sold.). By the time I got there it was just a matter of packing and pouring to get it upstairs. The job they did was equivalent to juggling a pillow, a bowling ball and a piece of rope. NICE WORK!



The original plan was to do baked spaghetti, but somewhere along the line, time made that impractical and they went the standard NOODLE and SAUCE set up.

I'm glad. Forget the noodles, just put some bread on the plate and ladle the sauce over. So good. "Ought to be able to order it in a restaurant" good.



PEYSON / ANNA / BAILEY / TYLER / STEVE / BRIEN / TWIG / BLAKE / MO-GAN / CREEEECH! / ALEXIS / JASON / JADE / TREY / LONDON / HENRY / KEITH / TREY / deserve applause and free pancakes for the job they did last night.

If anyone out there is looking to help the cause, the two tables we use for serving the food and desserts are nearly shot. The bolts and screws connecting the metal frame for the legs to the table top have come out. I'm gonna drill some new screws into it this weekend, but it's a stopgap. They're on their last legs (pun intended).
We use the white, lightweight ones they sell at Sam's. We used to use the heavy brown ones. The weight difference is ridiculous. We couldn't believe how much lighter and easier it was loading the white tables on the truck. Making that switch was a milestone day in the ministry. So was buying a trash can just for us. I kept telling Jim Morgan I was going to get one and every Tuesday I'd see him and remember I'd forgot. Both of those things made life easier.

If we get new white tables, I might get somebody to paint something on it before we use them. We missed the opportunity last time. I was thinking "Shroud of Turin" , Jim went "Last Supper". A last supper picture on the table would be cool. Don't even try to say it wouldn't.

Last Thing: Tablecloths aren't practical outside. They blow off and fly up over the food. Why doesn't someone make fitted tablecloths? All folding tables come in industry standard sizes, so make industry standard sized fitted tablecloths. Think Fitted Sheet or Shower Cap. Then... get creative. Put patterns (American Flag, Hearts), slogans (Happy Birthday, Enjoy Retirement), characters (Disney Princesses, Buzz and Woody) or art prints (Starry Starry Night, Dogs playing poker).

Then branch out and do custom orders. Customers give you pictures and they get laser-screened onto the tablecloth. Think about that. People could come through the line to eat and there I am, on the tablecloth looking up at them. A head to toe picture. That might get a little freaky for the servers. That would be like.....

Another cold wet night. We're in a pattern and we keep hitting it just right. Tonight it started raining at the first stop and I sent everybody and everything inside and just had plates already fixed, ready to go if anyone came up. We made to go plates for the second stop while we were at it. Good thing because we saw a little rain over there, too.

Making to-go plates is more work, but.....it's a lot of fun. You try to work fast, you yell, scream(Don't be my speed bump, Crump. DON'T BE MY SPEED BUMP!), and give each other a hard time, you adjust on the fly when something runs out or isn't working,.....it's semi-organized chaos because we've got to get to the 2nd stop by 9:00.

HOT DOGS

EVERY TOPPING IN THE WORLD

BEANS

CHIPS

COLE SLAW

DESSERT

SWEET TEA/WATER



Our 1-6 graders have a program on Wednesday night called CrossTraining. In the past they have collected toiletry items for us to pass out on Tuesday nights and I have been to speak with them several times about Misssions. The past 3 weeks they have collected specific food items for us. The 1-3 graders collected things for chili and the 4-6 graders collected for spaghetti. They have brought in a huge amount, for which we are very grateful. We're going to have spaghetti next week.

The leaders for CrossTraining do an outstanding job. Their commitment and preparation is amazing. If you know them and see them, tell them I said so.



BAILEY / MO-GAN / ALEXIS / CREEEECH! / ALEXANDRA / KILLER / JOHANNA / T.J. / JASON / JENNIFER / JADE / TWIG / TERESA ANNA / CHAMBERLAIN / SHELBY / DARBY / LAUREN / ????????? / TYLER / CHRISTIAN / J.BOGGS / CECELIA / PEYSON / ELAINE / MERRITT / STEVE / WADE / BLAKE / WAYNE / ELLYN / TREY / JAMIE
put effort and love into making a meal for our friends on the street.

And by doing so, they didn't get closer to Heaven. Instead, they created the Kingdom of God right where we were. Jesus used banquet, feast and celebraton imagery in his parables about the Kingdom of God.

That's what we have happening on Tuesdays;a banquet/feast/celebration.

And find ourselves squarely in the Kingdom of God, right there on the corner of Fifth and Market.

SUPER BOWL PIG PICKIN' PARTY recap

So......how was your Super Bowl?

Ours rocked. Not to brag, but I think we do it a little better every year. This was our fourth year, and we had our largest crowd yet, but it went smoother and we worked smarter.

We had a better layout and plan this year. All the food and eating was done in a room separate from where we watched the game, so there was no getting up and down during the game to distract people. We ate dinner before the game so we could give each of those activities the attention they both deserved. Plus, eating off your lap isn't much fun.

We got the pig on the cooker around 10:15. It was a 90 lb. pig and all we did was put wet hickory chips wrapped in aluminum foil across the burners and put salt and Montreal seasoning on the pig. All it took after that was just checking on it every so often. We laid it skin side down so we never needed to turn it.

Don Vigus always plans a Super Bowl Party for the youth and I encourage them to go to that. That's why it's adults that help out with our party.

And I have great adults that come and help. WAYNE CURRIE / TAMMY PRUDEN / CRAIG LINDINO / COLLEEN ST. LEDGER / GARY MCKNIGHT / LAINE MCKNIGHT / TWIG ROLLINS / MITCH COOK were amazing in the way the served and provided for the guys that came. True to form, we had about 10 more than we did last year. First year we had 20 and have added a consistent 10 more each year. It was between 52 and 55 this year.

I made an "Appetizer contact list" on the Crackberry last week and sent out a text to everyone on it asking if they would make an appetizer for the party. I didn't care what or how much, I left that up to them. I also invited them. In less than 5 minutes, 6 of them texted back saying yes and by the time of the party, I had 11 folks step up and provide appetizers and dessert.

DONNA CARR / DOROTHY CRUMPTON / CONNIE VIGUS / JOHN LIVERMAN / MANDY GARRETT / AMY QUEEN / HEATHER SUTTON / LAINE MCKNIGHT / ANNA TOLAN / AMY COOK / JANE DODDS were the kind and generous folks who helped us out with that. We ate the meal before the game and had the appetizers and desserts at halftime. They were delicious.

We had also gathered a lot of clothes over the last few weeks and we set up a room they could go in and get as much of whatever they wanted that would fit. That was a big hit with them. They almost cleaned it out.

Looking back, it seems like such a small and simple thing to do. There's no one down at the church on Sunday night. We've got a big room and a big TV just waiting to be used. It's practically a no-brainer. But it has such a big impact. Every single guy who was there Sunday that was there tonight when we fed came up and mentioned something positive about it. How good it was. How much they ate. How good the BBQ was. How much they enjoyed the game. Over and over.

Thanks again to the adults who helped out. I know all of them had other options for ways to spend watching the game, but they chose to serve others. And it speaks to their goodness and commitment that all of them would say they didn't give up anything and were right where they wanted to be.

The night went really well. It is one of my favorite days of the whole year. Come join us next year and find out why. g

P.S. Hampton Cook came with his dad Mitch and was a big help until he left to go to the Youth Party.

I don't give a rat what the Groundhog saw........

......tonight was Cold and Wet. Nice Combination.
We ate inside last night at the first stop, so that meant I took up my spot outside on the sidewalk letting people know we were doing it inside. And like I've said before.....I like being outside when it's like this. The rain makes everything shiny and slick and the cold gives you a sense of urgency. There's no in-between meandering in the cold. Point A to Point B and no stops.
I usually speak to everyone that walks by, regardless of whether I think they are coming to us or not. It paid off tonight. A couple came by walking a dog. That would indicate they live nearby and don't need us. Plus, I didn't remember them ever coming before. I said Hey how y'all doing tonight? just being friendly.
They said Fine and kept on going, but then stopped and came back and asked if this is the place where they could get a meal. I said It is! We're just inside tonight. So they went in and ate.
I don't think they would have asked if I hadn't spoken first.

Here's what they ate:
MEAT LOAF
MACARONI AND CHEESE
GREENBEANS
BREAD
DESSERT
SWEET TEA/WATER

I'm starting to think that Meatloaf might be everybody's favorite meal. It used to be cheeseburgers, but we haven't done them as much lately. But when we do meatloaf now, people really, really, say how much they like it. We give a big slab of it, too. The last few times we've done it, deer burger has been the meat we used.

Meatloaf has got some things going for it.

1. It's a comfort food, and it's usually accompanied by other comfort foods. You never see Meatloaf on a plate with a salad and baby carrots. It's mashed potatoes, mac'n cheese, beans, gravy, etc.

2. It's baked, so it's got a crust. Crust is good. There are some things where the crust is the best part. Pot pies. Pound Cake. Fruit Pies. Anything with cheese on top that gets browned. And Meatloaf.

3. And the glaze on top. mmmmmmm.....glaaaaaze.



ALYSSA / ERIN / BRIEN / TERESA / ANNA / TWIG / MITCH / MO-GAN / CREEEECH! / ALEXIS / ALEXANDRIA / PEYSON / MERRITT / HAMPTON / CECELIA / KILLER / JOHANNA / ELAINE / JASON / JENNIFER / BOONE / SAM / J.BOGGS / TYLER / MARK /



It's easy to place people and situations into the same boxes over and over and fail to see them as rounded or 3-dimensional. I don't do it on purpose, but I still do it sometimes. Then an event occurs that snaps me out of my rut and forces me to think of people and situations in a new way.

Like this past week........

I was at school and went into the office to check my box. I walked through the main office and saw someone I knew. We saw each other at the same time and instantly recognized each other, but it was weird because we weren't seeing each other in the place we were used to. It was one of the Tuesday night guys from the Mercy House. He looked different; I usually see him after 9 right before he goes to bed, it's a parking lot under a street lamp and he's usually in shorts, a t-shirt, and no shoes.

Here he was dressed and it was daylight and a whole different setting.
When I see our guys around town, I make it a point not to reference Tuesday night unless they do. They might be sensitive about it and it doesn't have to be the only thing we have in common. When I saw my friend in the office, I pretty much knew what he was there for. Parents come to school for 2 things. Checking in/out, or discipline. I said something like Hey, man, what are you doing, getting your schedule changed?

He said No, I came up here to get my daughter straightened out.



And just like that.....a new layer gets added and I think of him differently now.

This is a guy I talk to every week. Who always stops and makes conversation, someone I notice if they don't come out to eat. A guy I like.
But I never thought about him having a teenage daughter at my school.

How tough is that?
It's one thing to be in a situation where you find yourself out of work and living in a men's shelter trying to get your life on track and broke off connections with family and friends. But what about having all that in the place you grew up, with your wife and kids nearby? With a kid in High School? It's gotta be tough to go to the school where the admin and the counselors know your situation, and you're going because of troubles your kid is having at school. He's probably worried about what his kid thinks of him, and not exactly feeling like Super Parent. Most kids with normal situations hate being seen with their parents at school. Wonder what his daughter was feeling?



I thought about it all day after I left the office and a lot since then.
He wasn't at the Mercy House stop last night so I didn't get to talk to him about his daughter or the situation.

We always tell the kids that everybody that comes through the line on Tuesday night has a story. About how they got to where they are. About what's keeping them where they are.We also tell them that we get a very narrow slice of their life each week, and that we need to pray for them during the 6 days and 23 1/2 hours between the times we see them. The good news is that God hears that prayer and covers that period for them the same way He does for us.

g